If it can win a Canadian architect award of excellence we should probably all like it then
100% (minus one) almost makes it unanimous!
you want it, you got it!
lets hope people in Europe comment about our art gallery like we talk about one of theirs..

some renderings just remind me of high school especially with the flag poles out front

If it can win a Canadian architect award of excellence we should probably all like it then
100% (minus one) almost makes it unanimous!
you want it, you got it!
lets hope people in Europe comment about our art gallery like we talk about one of theirs..

some renderings just remind me of high school especially with the flag poles out front

I think the point of mentioning the award, is that the AGS should not be compared to the truck-faced nightmare POS that is the Holiday Inn.
It is too bad our gallery had a budget, though, unlike any other building in the world.

Anyway, your opinions in regards to design are certainly in the minority.

Underground parkade work progressing along. With the excavation under the existing Persephone (Rawlco) theatre, it sure looks like the theatre is balancing on a precarious platform!! But I am sure they know what they are doing...

Interesting article, but I'm disappointed that a green roof has been shelved for the time being. Could've been a great showcase for it. Imagine, say, a future guest at the River Landing hotel looking out their room window at the lush green river valley, complemented by the verdant green on the roof of the Remai.

The Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan's design will capture Saskatoon's sunshine to help reduce its energy use by as much as 40 per cent.

Using the energy from the sun is among several design components planned to help the gallery achieve silver LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) status chiefly through using less energy, which is a challenge for a building that must maintain a stable environment to preserve artwork.

Jason Aebig drops by the construction site for the Remai Art Gallery once or twice a week.

He comes here just to remind himself the build is actually happening, because there have been times over the past two years when he feared it wouldn't.

The structure is beginning to take shape. From just outside the fencing he can see the beginnings of an elevator, and from the second storey window he can see the concrete foundation of the parkade.

"To see the construction now, the pylons in the ground, those guys doing what they're doing, it's incredible to me, it really is," he says.

Thumbing through the roll of blueprints, he excitedly points out other features of the future gallery.

For Aebig, the Remai won't just be a place to hang pretty pictures - it will be a cultural beacon for Saskatoon.

Aebig was appointed as a trustee to the board of the Mendel Art Gallery in 2009. While he has always enjoyed visiting museums, he had no real experience running one, he recalls over coffee and cake in the museum's café.

"Whenever my wife and I would travel, and we've travelled extensively, galleries and museums are always on our itinerary."

They also like local art, and attend auctions and openings. This was an opportunity to get involved.

He would never have guessed what would happen over the next four years.

As of 2009, the city hadn't yet found its signature piece for River Landing. At the same time, there had been several failed attempts to renovate and expand the Mendel.

There simply was no business case for renovations, as they would have cost the city more than building a whole new gallery.

"As much as I love this building and I love where it sits, the truth is, it's just not tenable."

For a while, not much happened with the project.

Then, in November 2011, board chair Arthur Knight died unexpectedly.

The board looked for someone suitable to take on the role, and settled on Aebig.

He doesn't know exactly why he was picked, but admits he was uncomfortable with the uncertainly around the group.

"There were a lot of balls in the air. We didn't have a chief curator, which is obviously a key gallery leadership position.

"We had just lost our chief financial officer. The gallery was considering a capital campaign to finance the new gallery. And just a short time later, our CEO ran into some health problems and was unavailable as well."

But at some point, decisions had to be made, "and you've got to start settling down, and getting on with getting on."

So at his first board meeting, he set out to rally the troops.

"You just decide we are going to proceed. We're going to exude confidence, we're going to be clear in terms of what our plan is and we're just going to march."

As much flack as this building (project) took over its beginning stages, and I suppose to some extent still is. I believe this to be one of the best looking buildings on the River BY FAR! I just hope that the detailing and construction of this building is top-notch and I am going to for sure go to see the building as much as the art-work within. THIS project will help us in the long run attract more people to the city. I am excited to see it finished.

I often forget that it's under construction... that it's officially happening... then I get a nice surprise when I drive over the Buckwold bridge. It will be exciting to watch the building's form as it emerges above the riverbank. They're above grade in some places already.

WALKING PATH SOUTHWEST OF THE REMAI GALLERY CONSTRUCTION SITE TO BE CLOSED ON THURSDAY, MARCH 13

City of Saskatoon
For Immediate Release: March 12, 2014
TU14-181

A section of the walking path southwest of the site of the future Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan in River Landing will be closed on Thursday, March 13 until summer 2015 due to the Gallery construction.

The closure is necessary because the area is needed for temporary construction supports for the 3rd floor gallery building overhang and ground drilling equipment. The supports will create a platform for the structure steel and concrete, while it is being assembled and the concrete is curing. This will take at least six months. These supports will then be removed, but the fence will still remain for safety, as construction work continues in the area.

The gallery will now be known as the Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan. What does everyone think of this name change?

The article below states that they intentionally wanted to get away from the "RAGS" acronym (of course this wasn't the only reason). For me, I liked RAGS - a term that could be used disparagingly against the gallery, but in general, the common meaning of the word could be turned upside down into something fun, positive, unique. RMAGS doesn't have the same ring.

The $93.7-million gallery will be known as the Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan, a brand that will be used this spring as fundraising for the project ramps up.

Executive director and CEO Gregory Burke, who came up with the name, said the new brand is relevant for the project and reflects the type of art people can expect to see at the gallery. The term ‘modern’ applies to the era from about the 1860s to today.

“The brand is actually what you do. It’s what you stand for. It’s what you promise to your customers and your consumers and your visitors,” Burke said Tuesday in an interview. “The word modern both applies to art, but also applies to the general character of the age that we live in.”

Burke was candid about wanting to prevent people from using the acronym RAGS if the name remained Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan.

Rebranding a gallery with the term ‘modern’ is not new and has a track record of success. As an example, Burke pointed to the Tate Modern in London, which he said saw a threefold increase in visitors after its name change.

“It really defines the period we will focus on, and that’s always been the case,” he said. “There’s nothing in the collection of the Mendel, for example — we don’t have any old masters going back to the Renaissance.”

Even the design of the gallery is inspired by the modern architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, he said.

Burke said the new gallery will help define what he calls Saskatoon 2.0, a new era of prosperity as the city shakes its small prairie city roots.